DATA, ETHICS AND THE GDPR
R&C: Could you provide an insight into how the issue of data ethics has been shaped by the arrival of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)? How does it specify what constitutes ethical use of personal data?
Haq: The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has proven to be a flagship law for data privacy, not only in Europe but also due to the influence it has had on the development of privacy legislation around the world. GDPR focuses on one very important element of data ethics: protecting people’s privacy. It also touches upon some other elements of data ethics, such as accountability and transparency. However, as data processing evolves, especially with the growing application of machine learning, many additional ethical considerations, such as diversity and algorithmic bias, are critical. GDPR promotes a risk-based, rather than a prescriptive, approach to protecting privacy. As data ethics becomes an ever more complex field, I believe we will see that risk-based approach increasingly applied to other ethical questions.
R&C: What have been the main GDPR data ethics challenges to have emerged over the past year? To what extent have companies underestimated what data ethics involves?
Haq: As GDPR has been implemented by millions of companies across all sectors, new ethical challenges have naturally come to light. In an increasingly collaborative world, how does one handle a deletion request when the personal data of more than one subject is inextricably linked? How does one verify the identity of a requestor without gathering more personal data? How can companies provide transparency on their practices in a way that the average user will engage with? As technology evolves, more complex questions will inevitably arise. It is fair to say that some companies whose revenue depends on the sale of data or advertising in particular are having to readjust their practices to ensure they are in line with people’s expectations. This demonstrates the critical importance of data ethics questions being tackled by society as a whole and not only those who process data.
Jan-Mar 2020 Issue
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